Friday, July 08, 2011

CREATIVE TEAMS A.W.O.L.: Scott McDaniel and Chuck Dixon - Nightwing

Yesterday IADW skipped a beat for no other reason other than after a day longer than most, I decided to read a few of the comics glaring at me with lost puppy eyes from the wardrobe.

Picking up issue one of Scott McDaniel and Chuck Dixon's run on Nightwing (with one of comics' best covers), I dove in. So much so, I was still swimming with the series when Thursday became yesterday in the early hours of this morning!

While finding a bat-book Chuck didn't write in the 90's is a pretty rare feat, what made Nightwing rise above all his other offerings, was that he amped up the story Marv Wolfman and others started - moving Dick Grayson out of Batman's shadow. The result further defined Nightwing as his own hero and made the title my number one Bat-book right up through No Man's Land and beyond.

The book's ace in the hole - Scott McDaniel's pencils. Scott's hyper-kinetic, dark-meets-manga stylings brought the acrobatic wonder alive and really made you believe an acrobat could swing! As a title, it gave Nightwing a distinctive home on the racks, and still to this day stands as some of the best work McDaniel's ever done.

Finding one scene that summarised the cool of this dynamic duo is a hard ask, but I'm running with Nightwing #14, and the moment where Dick tells Batman to go count the bats in his own belfry and leave Blüdhaven to him.

I think I was 100% in the cheering section Random. I always jokingly think of Nightwing as the split custody child of Bruce and Clark. Sure Bats set him on his crime fighting ways, but I think it was the other Titans and Superman's example that taught him how to be a hero.

Any steps to separate him from being seen as 'Batman Jnr' always makes me smile :D Just like that.

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